Best practices for improving sender reputation

Sender reputation is the way mailbox providers measure the trustworthiness of a sender’s email. It is based on a variety of metrics, including spam complaint rate, unknown user rate, volume, spam trap hits, and blacklistings. Achieving and maintaining a good sender reputation is key to consistently reach the inbox.

Best practice recommendations

Reduce complaints

Ensure all IP addresses and domains are enrolled in all available complaint feedback loops.

Add subscribers who complain to a suppression list as soon as you receive the complaint.

Use your brand name in the friendly-from (display name) address so it is easier for subscribers to recognize your email.

Ensure that you are sending relevant content to encourage engagement.

Set expectations at the point of collection about what email a subscriber will receive and when they will receive it. Meet those expectations with the subscriber.

Send consistent volume by establishing a regular sending cadence and avoid large sending volume spikes that may trigger a corresponding spike in complaints.

Manage bounces

Add unknown users to your suppression list after one bounce.

Determine and remedy the cause of a block using your bounce logs rather than continue sending to addresses that are blocked by a mailbox provider. Many mailbox providers include an error code and a website link in the bounce message you can use to get more information about a potential cause for the block.

Avoid sending to spam traps.

Engage in more aggressive list hygiene practices if you are hitting recycled spam traps.